Taking Root
by Otakubox
Summary: When he's transferred to a prestigious boarding school, Hershel Layton never thought he would make friends--or enemies-- so quickly. LaytonxClaire.
1. Chapter 1: First Impressions

"_Boarding school?" the boy had cried._

"_You've already been accepted!" his mother replied, a hopeful tone apparent in her voice, "You're a brilliant student! They would be overjoyed to take you in!"_

"_But-" _

"_The living conditions are of the highest standards, and you'll be able to come visit on holiday!" she continued. "Your father and I are paying enormous amounts for you to get the most prestigious education possible!"_

_He didn't have any room to argue. Sure, he would miss the few friends he had. But he would forget about them eventually. He never really fit in with them anyway. He spent too much of his free time curled up in his room with a book or a puzzle. He would find new friends._

_---_

"So," another teenager said, surveying him from across the room. "you're gonna be my roommate for the next few years, huh?" the other boy sniffed and wiped his nose on his wrist.

_It would be impolite to even think about how large his nose is. _Yet he still thought exactly that. He stayed silent and nodded, putting down his bags.

"Well, nice to meetcha!" his roommate said with a grin, approaching him. He offered his hand to the newcomer. "Name's Don Pausel."

The other teen tried his best to stifle his laughter. "Layton," he said, shaking Don's hand, returning the smile. "Hershel Layton."

The two chatted for a while as Hershel unpacked his bags, sorting them neatly into a tall dresser. Ironically, Don wasn't a huge fan of brain teasers and puzzles. Ironic, but not surprising. The teen's hobby lied more in building models, mostly airplanes. He seemed to have a gleam of fascination in his eye as he talked about them. Flying had been his dream since he was a child, he had said. Hershel had said that he didn't really have any lifelong dreams plans for the future. He was most likely going to follow in his father's footsteps and become an archeologist; no one could make a career out of puzzles. He kept that certain detail to himself.

A few short hours later, lights-out was called. "Better get some sleep," Don grumbled, climbing into his bed on the opposite side of the room as Hershel's. "Class starts early tomorrow." the teen shut off the lamp next to his bed. "Wake you up tomorrow. Night." and with that, he had already drifted off to sleep.

Hershel obediently turned off the lamp and nestled into the covers, a puzzle book and flashlight in hand. _Maybe just a couple more,_ he thought to himself, covering his head with the blankets and clicking the flashlight on. _A few minutes won't hurt, will it?_ He flipped open to the first blank page he could find. In seconds, he was immersed in the riddle, turning in his mind and jotting notes in the margins. _That's simple… 1:11, 2:22, and so on… _Hershel tapped his pen on his chin. _But three digits in a row… so I suppose 10:00 would also be right…_

_---_

When Hershel finally woke, the sunlight beamed in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, yawned and stretched. _Must be early,_ he thought. _ Don hasn't woken me up like he said…_ Lazily, he turned his head, only to see his roommate's bed was empty. _Bugger!_ He jolted up out of bed and glared at his alarm clock. 7:26. Class would be starting in five minutes, and he still had to get dressed and find his classroom.

"Oh, God…" he moaned as he stripped off his pajamas and threw on his uniform. Leaving his tie undone and slung over his neck, Hershel rushed to gather his books and stuff them into his bag, making sure he stashed his key safely inside.

7:32. He had managed to get dressed rather quickly, though finding his classroom was taking more time than he had expected. The science building was the furthest point from the boy's dormitory, and, though the campus wasn't all that large, he still would have liked to be on time for his first day.

Finally, he had made it to the classroom. He slowly turned the handle, and the door opened with a slight _creak_. He entered sheepishly, and all eyes were on him. "Uhm… I'm sorry I'm late, sir," Hershel muttered, handing a paper to his teacher. _What a great first impression _this_ is!_

The man nodded. "Tardy on your first day, I see," an annoyed frown was visible under his gray beard. "Very well, Mister…" he squinted at the paper he was handed. "Mr. Layton." The teacher motioned to an empty seat towards the back of the room.

His head hung in shame, Hershel marched to the back of the classroom as the teacher continued to take roll. _Great. Just perfect._ He sighed as he plopped down into his assigned seat. Just to his left, Don let out a quick snort of laughter.

The teen frowned in disapproval and sighed, putting his chin in his hands.

"Alan Dimitri?"

"Here." A boy sitting near Don responded.

"Claire Evans?"

"Present," a girl sitting on Hershel's opposite side chirped.

Studying her for a while, Hershel found that she was an astonishingly pretty girl. Her wavy, sandy brown hair was pulled back loosely in a ponytail with a few strands falling out, framing her face. Her bright green eyes shone from behind the glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Before he could catch himself staring, she turned to face him. "You're new?" she asked quietly with a smile. "Afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Hershel." he replied bluntly, still upset by his roommate's dishonesty.

Claire giggled. "Welcome to Ledford, then, Hershel."

He nodded, accepting the welcome as he had everyone else's over the past two days.

She sighed, "If it's Dr. Schrader you're worried about, don't bother," the girl assured him. "He's tough, but he's not too bad once you get used to him."

Hershel mumbled in response, "Doubt it."

Claire smiled reassuringly. "You never know! Maybe he'll be a better anthropology teacher than you'd expect!"

_At least it's a subject I'm somewhat interested in_, he thought. _Though how long I'll be able to put up with _her _as my lab partner will remain a mystery._

_---_

**Yeah, his name's Don Pausel. You can shoot me now. (I swear I didn't notice it sounded like puzzle until my friend pointed it out.) Filled for the LJ Fan Meme. Layton in middle school/high school/college.**


	2. Chapter 2: After All

The class period was excruciatingly long, as Claire had insisted on asking Hershel everything she possibly could.

"Where are you from?"

He replied honestly that he lived in London, still trying to pay attention to Schrader's "first day" lecture.

She came from London as well. No surprise.

"What do you like to do for fun?"

"Reading," he had said. Why hadn't he just told her "puzzles" right off the bat?

She frowned, and was silent for a while. Schrader continued to speak, Claire continued to daze, scribbling haphazard lines in her notebook.

"Do you miss your girlfriend or something?" she whispered.

"Don't have one."

She was silent again. She pondered for a while before speaking again.

"Are you gay?"

Hershel was appalled, not only by her comment, but also by her frankness. "What makes you think that?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Most guys are either taken or gay, so I figured you had to be one of them."

He rolled his eyes. Girls could be so shallow. He went back to listening to his teacher's lecture, until suddenly his curiosity peaked, and without warning she spit out the question. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Stupid! Why ask her that?

"Yeah." Claire replied bluntly, and by the look on her face, she was clearly not pleased.

Hershel raised an eyebrow. "Don't like him?"

"No," she sighed, "He's sweet." she lowered her voice to a whisper. "Gotten into the habit of smoking lately. It's _disgusting._"

Hershel chuckled in agreement. His father had smoked; he remembered how had grimaced at the musty odor of his father's pipe every time he entered his office.

Claire smiled in return. That would be the last thing they would say to each other until class ended.

---

The bell rang on the hour, and the entire class was already up out of their seats and filing out of the room. Hershel gathered his books and flung his bag over his shoulder when he could already see Don approaching. The teen passed Layton and put his arm around Claire's waist. "Hey babe!" he crooned, landing a kiss on her cheek.

She giggled. "Donny," she said motioning to her lab partner, "this is-"

"Hershel," Don finished, smiling. "I know. He's my roommate."

"What a small world!" she laughed brightly. Before Hershel could cut in, she spoke again. "What's your next class?"

He pulled out his schedule and read from it. "Calculus," he said, with less enthusiasm in his voice. Math had never quite been his forte.

"Same here!" she chirped delightedly, gently prying herself from her boyfriend's hold. Taking the schedule from his hands, she read quickly through it. "Looks like you have everything but sixth period with me," she observed. "Would you like me to give you a little tour?" she smiled warmly at him.

He refused. "No thank you. I think I can find my way around well enough."

Claire frowned. "Alright then." turning back to Don, she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you at lunch!" And with that, she was hurrying off to her next class.

Hershel , now alone with his roommate, was now suddenly reminded of the humiliation he had experienced earlier. "What was that all about?"

"What, Claire?" he asked. "Well, she's not my sister!"

"Not that." the teen snapped. "I mean earlier today."

Don laughed. "Come off it!" He clapped Hershel on the back jokingly. "We always mess around with the new guy! Think of it as an initiation!" Hershel raised an eyebrow. "It won't happen again! Promise!" Don was smiling, his honesty visible in his eyes. "We're pals, right?"

"Sure," the other boy answered with a grin.

"So I suggest you get over to class soon. Don't want to be late again!" he chortled. The young man waved and began to walk in another direction.

_Pals._

Hershel started off to his next class with a smile.

_And Claire was right, _he observed,_ He does smell like smoke._

---

The weeks passed. Hershel Layton became close friends with Don. He knew everything he liked and everything that got under his skin--the biggest being how everyone but Hershel and Claire were in the habit of calling him "Donald", his full name.

Hershel had managed to get over the slump of his first day, and was soon known as Dr. Schrader's favorite student. It wasn't surprising, other students had said. He was every other teacher's favorite.

Claire, he had noticed, wasn't the great student he had expected her to be at first sight. Contrary to his first impression, he noticed she had managed to maintain a C average, and in some subjects struggled to keep her grades from plummeting below seventy percent.

The air around Claire, Hershel and Don had been quite tense lately. It had seemed as though he was the only one willing to strike up a conversation anymore.

It wasn't until one day after anthropology when he had managed to put the pieces of his most recent puzzle in place.

The bell had already rung just after Schrader passed out the tests. Just as he had expected, Hershel had aced it. Don had left with a satisfied smile on his face, refusing to acknowledge neither his roommate nor his girlfriend. Having sensed that something had to have been wrong, Hershel glanced to Claire's test. A sixty-seven percent. The boy sat and quietly observed Claire's upset frown deepen, her hands clench into fists, a single tear drip onto the desk from behind her glasses…

The classroom was now empty, save for the two of them. Hershel, feeling obliged to comfort the girl, put a hand on her shoulder. "Claire…"

Claire angrily swatted his hand away. "Don't _touch_ me!" she shrieked.

The young man shrunk back in response.

"It's all you're fault, you know!" she continued, as angered as ever. "If it weren't for _your_ coming along, he never would have… Ugh-!" Refusing to finish her statement, she stormed out of the room, leaving her test behind.

Hershel watched the girl leave. Never would have… what? And what had he done? He only answered her questions when they were asked! She seemed just as tense as Don had been lately. Taking her test in his hand, Hershel put it into his bag and walked out, eager to ask the girl what was happening.

In second period, Hershel approached her, test in hand. "You forgot this." He handed it over.

Ashamed, Claire took the paper. "Thanks," she grumbled. The girl gave a slight sniff and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

Hershel was suddenly struck with an idea. "If you'd like," he offered, "I could tutor you. I-if you really want me to, I mean."

Claire's frown turned into a slight smile. "Really? You would do that?"

Hershel nodded. "I'd be more than happy to help out a friend of Don's."

Claire frowned again. "About him," she sighed, "We're through. He dumped me just yesterday."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Her voice was quiet. "Thought I was cheating on him." She gritted her teeth. "That _bastard_."

Before Hershel could respond, the bell rang and the teacher called her students to their seats.

Hershel couldn't focus on the lesson. It was undoubtedly himself that Don had suspected Claire was with, but why? He didn't feel any closer to her than he would have any of his friends back home! Sure, the occasional question or conversation would come up, but it was nothing that Hershel couldn't ignore at any time. An idea crossed his mind.

Was Claire trying to tell him something?

He shook off the thought. Though there was one other thing he couldn't help but notice. She _was_ a very attractive young woman.

After class, Hershel once again noticed the tense aura that surrounded Claire. Clearing his throat to catch her attention, he spoke up. "Right after eighth period. Near the benches."

Claire nodded, and quietly left the room.

---

**XD I'm sorry, I couldn't help but have Claire ask if Layton was gay. *hes been reading too many Layton/Legal fics* And you should be happy I cut the PaoloxClaire awkwardness short. Trust me, LaytonxClaire coming VERY soon. :3**


End file.
